Love it or hate it, recycled art is coming into vogue. If you care to look, it’s everywhere to appreciate and bring awareness to issues confronting the environment.

While in Punta Gorda, Belize last summer, I saw this boat made from discarded water bottles by the staff of the Toledo Institute for Development and Environment (TIDE), a local conservation group. Most definitely, it fits the bill.

Bottled water looks so harmless that its potential for mischief can be easily overlook. To start, it doesn’t come cheap as far as energy consumption is concerned. It uses plastic for container which is derived from oil. It costs energy to manufacture that container, to fill it up with water, to package it, to deliver it, to dispose of it and recycle it. Lots of energy are expended through all these processes, which contribute to global warming. Considering that it’s used only once, it doesn’t seem justified.

If you care about the environment, bottled water is the most incorrect way to quench your thirst. Besides, who really needs it when there’s a cheaper alternative? Tests after tests have shown that it’s no better than tap water in most cases.

An outhouse is an outhouse is an outhouse. It’s there in anticipation of your need to go when you needed to go.

But this one is special. Located at the Warasa Garifuna Drum School, it features the painting of a man and a woman in their native attire making it a work of art and a place of easement at the same time.

When traveling, it pays to look for Mcdonald’s when nature calls because this American export is known for its clean restrooms.

In Belize, however, there’s no Mcdonald’s to save the day. You have to make do with what’s available to relieve yourself. Most restrooms are the outhouse type. Despite their humble structures, they’re clean and respectable and serve their purpose well. At least, I can speak of those that I have used.